Hollow Victory: The White River Expedition of 1879 and the Battle of Milk Creek

by Mark E. Miller

Wyoming State Archaeologist Miller examines this tragic conflict one of the longest sustained engagements between the US Cavalry and Native Americans and its consequences. According to Miller, there were no winners at Milk Creek. The only measure of benefit was garnered by immigrants when Colorado opened the former Ute land to non-Indian settlement. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

249 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1997

About the author

Mark spent his youth and early adulthood on a large family ranching operation in Carbon County, Wyoming, started by his great-grandfather Isaac C. Miller in 1881. He worked the land and livestock until he was thirty-two. In the meantime, he studied anthropology and archaeology, earning bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Wyoming, and a PhD at the University of Colorado. He then served as Wyoming State Archaeologist for three decades and today holds an adjunct professorship in the Anthropology Department at the University of Wyoming.

Mark lives along the Big Laramie River in Albany County, Wyoming. His memoir, A Sometimes Paradise: Reflections on Life in a Wyoming Ranch Family, is his third book.

Reviews

[Eric Graves · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book but beware, it only covers the Battle of Milk Creek and does not cover the Meeker Massacre event but does cover the lead up to it well. There are a few faults with the book but it’s nothing you can’t operate around. The first is his use of number; he goes back and forth inconsistently when spelling the numbers out and just using the symbol, annoying but not miserable. The second is his repetitiveness which is the same. Thirdly, the author’s judgment for why the Utes operated tactically seems to be off and he assumes too much that they were trying to fight like a “conventional” force instead of their usual guerrilla tactics. Overall, still a great read.